Americans United - Southern Poverty Law Centerhttp://www.au.org/tags/southern-poverty-law-center
enNo Moore Embarrassmenthttp://www.au.org/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/no-moore-embarrassment
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>On Sept. 28, members of the Ala­bama Court of the Judiciary, a body that provides oversight of judges in the state, met for some unusual proceedings: The state’s chief justice, Roy S. Moore, was on trial – for the second time.</p>
<p>The nine members of the court spent a day hearing evidence. They had 10 days to issue a decision, but apparently this wasn’t a hard case. Two days later, the court issued a unanimous verdict: Moore was found guilty of six counts and suspended from the Alabama high court, without pay, for the remainder of his term. He was also ordered to reimburse the state for the cost of the trial.</p>
<p>Technically Moore was not removed from office, but the decision has the same effect. Moore, 69, is suspended for the rest of his term, which would have expired in 2018, and he can’t run again because Alabama law prohibits anyone older than 70 from being appointed to or elected to the bench.</p>
<p>As Americans United was quick to point out, Moore has no one but himself to blame for his predicament. His problems stemmed from his rigid theocratic views and his insistence that Alabama is somehow not required to follow federal court decisions.</p>
<p>It’s an old argument for Moore. In 2001, Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama and the Southern Poverty Law Center sued Moore after he erected a two-ton Ten Commandments monument at the Judicial Building in Montgomery.</p>
<p>A federal appeals court ordered that the religious structure be removed. Moore refused, openly defying the court. He was tried before the Court of the Judiciary and kicked off the Alabama high court.</p>
<p>But that wasn’t the end of Moore. Supreme Court justices in Alabama are elected, and in 2012, Moore sought and won his old job back.</p>
<p>It didn’t take him long to get into trouble again. As federal courts began upholding marriage equality, Moore grew uneasy. When the issue came to the Yellowhammer State, he threw a kind of judicial fit.</p>
<p>The court case that legalized marriage equality in Alabama didn’t even play out in Moore’s courtroom. It took place in a federal court. U.S. District Judge Callie V. Granade struck down Alabama’s ban on marriage between same-sex couples in January of 2015, in a case brought by Americans United and allied groups.</p>
<p>The fact that the case wasn’t in his courtroom didn’t stop Moore from jumping into the legal fray. He looked for a way to interject himself into it and wrote to Gov. Robert Bentley (R), urging him to continue to enforce the state’s ban on marriage equality. In the letter, Moore questioned the ability of federal courts to strike down Alabama laws.</p>
<p>Things really escalated in June of 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down <em>Obergefell v. Hodges</em>, a 5-4 decision holding that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. The ruling had the effect of invalidating bans on marriage for same-sex couples nationwide, but Moore was not ready to give up.</p>
<p>Moore waited a few months and then struck. In January of 2016, he acted unilaterally and issued a bizarre “administrative order” advising all probate judges in Alabama that the ban on marriage for same-sex couples in the state remained in place.</p>
<p>In Alabama, probate judges are local officials with a variety of duties. Among them is issuing licenses for couples who want to marry. Despite the use of the term “judge” in the title, not all probate judges have a legal background – and some were confused by Moore’s order.</p>
<p>Americans United moved quickly to clear up the matter, filing a motion with Granade requesting that she make it clear that probate judges in Ala­bama must follow the U.S. Sup­reme Court ruling in <em>Obergefell</em>. Gra­nade did so. Most probate judges in the state are now issuing licenses to same-sex couples, although a few have stopped issuing licenses to all couples – opposite-sex and same-sex – rather than comply.</p>
<p>Moore’s stunt led several groups and individuals in Alabama to file formal complaints against him before the Judicial Inquiry Commission. That group investigated the matter, decided there were grounds for a hearing and referred Moore’s case to the Court of the Judiciary.</p>
<p>Moore’s attorney, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, a Religious Right legal organization, tried to stop the trial by filing a lawsuit in federal court challenging the right of the oversight bodies to investigate Moore. When that tactic failed, Moore and Staver had no choice but to attend the trial and put forth an argument.</p>
<p>It was not very persuasive. The Court of the Judiciary issued a 50-page ruling against Moore and ordered him suspended from the court.</p>
<p>The court didn’t mince words. It ruled that Moore’s brazen administrative order represented “a failure to follow clear law and a failure to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.”</p>
<p>The Court of the Judiciary found that Moore interpreted the law in a manner that was “incomplete, misleading and manipulative.” The court also said Moore “substituted his judgment for the judgment of the entire Alabama Supreme Court on a substantive legal issue….”</p>
<p>For Americans United, this was all very familiar. AU has been tangling with Moore since 1997 when, as a local judge in Etowah County, Moore attempted to nullify a federal court ruling in an Americans United case barring officially sanctioned prayer and other religious activities in local public schools.</p>
<p>At the time, Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn called Moore’s ruling, which he had no legal right to issue, “flat-earth jurisprudence.”</p>
<p>That same year, Moore provoked a legal showdown in his courtroom by displaying a wooden plaque of the Ten Commandments. Alabama’s governor at the time, Fob James, vowed to defend Moore’s display by calling out the National Guard.</p>
<p>“[T]he only way those Ten Commandments ... will be stripped from that court is with the force of arms,” James blustered.</p>
<p>Moore used the Ten Commandments controversy to boost his profile in the state. In November of 2000, he was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court for the first time. He wasn’t on the state high court long before he commissioned a Ten Commandments monument for the Judicial Building.</p>
<p>What became known as “Roy’s rock” was a two-ton granite monument displayed prominently in the building’s lobby. When challenged in court, it did not fare well. Two federal courts ordered the monument removed. Moore refused.</p>
<p>Moore’s defiance didn’t sit well with the federal appeals court. Eventually workers came to remove the monument, which was put into storage for a time. Religious Right groups later took it on the road, where Moore’s fans stood in line to see and touch it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Moore was out of a job. He roamed the Religious Right’s rubber-chicken circuit for a bit and penned some truly awful poetry. (Sample lines: “You think that God’s not angry, that our land’s a moral slum?/How much longer will it be before His judgment comes?”)</p>
<p>Moore was floated as a possible presidential candidate by the far-right Constitution Party in 2004, but chose not to run. He had his eye on another prize: the governor’s mansion. Moore ran for Alabama governor in 2006 and 2010, faring poorly both times. In 2006 he captured 33 percent of the vote in the Republican primary. In 2010, he did worse, getting just 10 percent.</p>
<p>Moore kept busy in other ways. He and his wife founded a group called the Foundation for Moral Law, and Moore drafted a proposed piece of federal legislation called the Constitution Restoration Act that would have stripped federal courts of their ability to hear cases dealing with any “acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.”</p>
<p>The bill was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate in 2005, but it didn’t go anywhere.</p>
<p>What’s next for Moore? Staver insists that he will file an appeal of the Court of the Judiciary’s decision before the Alabama Supreme Court. Moore tried the same thing in 2003. A special panel of judges was convened to sit as the court. They affirmed the Court of the Judiciary’s ruling.</p>
<p>Americans United says this should be the end of the line for Moore.</p>
<p>“The people of Alabama are better off without Roy Moore on the court,” said AU’s Lynn in a media statement. “He is an embarrassment to the state, and his antics long ago became tiresome.” </p>
</div></div><a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><h3 >Alabama&#039;s Controversial Chief Justice Loses His Job —&nbsp;Again</h3><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Featured</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/government-sponsored-religious-displays">Government-Sponsored Religious Displays</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Institutional Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (Including Military, Prisons &amp; Healthcare)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage">Marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-12435" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
<header>
<div class="image">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.au.org/files/styles/cs_cover_thumbnail/public/Nov%2016%20Web%20Cover.jpg?itok=nr51JXSu" width="75" height="97" alt="" /></div></div></div> </div>
<h2><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">November</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2016</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
</a></h2>
<span class="read-more">
<a href="/church-state">Browse previous issues &raquo;</a>
</span>
</header>
<div class="content">
<div class="frontpage-block frontpage-view-church-state-articles-featured-articles" >
<h3>Featured Articles</h3>
<div class="content">
<div class="view view-church-state-articles view-id-church_state_articles view-display-id-featured_articles view-dom-id-172d1eda962f502a42cf3fd8cb44e491">
<div class="view-content">
<div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/offside-and-out-of-bounds">Offside And Out Of Bounds</a></h3>
<h4>The Supreme Court Struck Down Coercive Forms Of Public School Prayer 54 Years Ago, But Some Coaches Are Playing By Their Own Rules</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/pulpit-politicking-panned">Pulpit Politicking Panned</a></h3>
<h4>Americans United Reminds Faith Leaders To Focus On Issues, Not Candidates</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/no-moore-embarrassment">No Moore Embarrassment</a></h3>
<h4>Alabama&#039;s Controversial Chief Justice Loses His Job — Again</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/shoring-up-separation">Shoring Up Separation</a></h3>
<h4>Americans United Ally Brent Walker Reflects On A Career Defending Religious Liberty</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/joining-the-fight">Joining The Fight</a></h3>
<h4>Meet Eric Rothschild, Americans United&#039;s New Litigation Counsel</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even views-row-last">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/au-in-action">AU In Action</a></h3>
<h4>Staff Members And Activists Spread The Word About Church-State Separation Nationwide</h4> </div>
</div>
</div> </div>
</div><div class="lower clearfix"><div class="frontpage-block frontpage-view-church-state-articles-all-articles" >
<div class="content">
<div class="view view-church-state-articles view-id-church_state_articles view-display-id-all_articles view-dom-id-7e761651baa3d94d6fbbef0bfd8dc50c">
<div class="view-content">
<div class="cs-department" id="section-perspective"> <h3>Perspective</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/perspective/tale-of-the-tape-the-religious-right-flunks-an">Tale Of The Tape: The Religious Right Flunks An Ethics Test</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-editorial"> <h3>Editorial</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/editorial/no-tax-aid-for-religion-why-we-oppose-compelled">No Tax Aid For Religion!: Why We Oppose Compelled Support For Faith In Mass. </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/editorial/off-the-bench-a-disgraceful-end-for-a-disgraceful">Off The Bench: A Disgraceful End For A Disgraceful Judge</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-people--events"> <h3>People &amp; Events</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/native-americans-protest-construction-of-nd">Native Americans Protest Construction Of N.D. Pipeline On Ancestral Land</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/nevada-supreme-court-blocks-implementation-of">Nevada Supreme Court Blocks Implementation Of School Voucher Plan </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/mass-court-says-ok-to-program-of-tax-aid-for">Mass. Court Says OK To Program Of Tax Aid For Churches</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/appeals-court-upholds-nc-county-s-policy-on">Appeals Court Upholds N.C. County’s Policy On Municipal Prayer </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/federal-report-says-voucher-programs-can-leave">Federal Report Says Voucher Programs Can Leave Disabled Students Behind</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/people-events/recent-poll-shows-high-support-for-birth">Recent Poll Shows High Support For Birth Control Access </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/us-education-department-to-monitor-religious">U.S. Education Department To Monitor Religious Bias </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/another-fight-over-evolution-brewing-in-texas">Another Fight Over Evolution Brewing In Texas </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/colo-graphic-artist-sues-over-marriage-equality">Colo. Graphic Artist Sues Over Marriage Equality </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/conn-police-chief-says-prayer-can-fight-crime">Conn. Police Chief Says Prayer Can Fight Crime</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-governor-calls-for-prayers-for-oil-industry">Okla. Governor Calls For Prayers For Oil Industry</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/fla-county-official-sues-over-marriage">Fla. County Official Sues Over Marriage Requirement </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-extremist-sentenced-for-mali">Around The World: Extremist Sentenced For Mali Site Attacks</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div> </div>
</div> </div>
</div></div> </div> <!-- /.content -->
<footer>
<ul class="links inline"><li class="comment_forbidden first last"></li>
</ul> <!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style ">
<a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone" g:plusone:size="medium"></a>
<a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=americansunited"></script>
<!-- AddThis Button END -->
</footer>
</article> <!-- /.node -->
</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/protect-thy-neighbor">Protect Thy Neighbor</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu-of-alabama">ACLU of Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ten-commandments-display">Ten Commandments Display</a></span></div></div>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 09:00:00 +0000Timothy Ritz12438 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/church-state/november-2016-church-state/featured/no-moore-embarrassment#commentsNo Moore Embarrassment: Good Riddance To Alabama’s Disgracehttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-moore-embarrassment-good-riddance-to-alabama-s-disgrace
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Good news from Alabama: Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended from the court without pay for the remainder of his term.</p>
<p>Technically, Moore has not been removed from office, but <a href="https://au.org/files/roymoore_finaljudgment_09302016.pdf">today’s decision</a> by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary has that effect. He has been suspended for the rest of his term, and he can’t run again because Alabama law prohibits anyone older than 70 from being appointed to or elected to the bench. (Moore will turn 70 in February.)</p>
<p>Moore, you’ll recall, took several actions to block marriage equality in the state even after the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear in 2015’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf"><em>Obergefell v. Hodges</em></a> ruling that state laws and constitutional amendments that limited marriage to heterosexual couples were unconstitutional.</p>
<p>A slew of complaints was filed against Moore before Alabama’s Judicial Inquiry Commission. That body investigated the matter and recommended that Moore face trial. Yesterday Moore, aided by his attorney, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, went before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Today that body issued a 50-page ruling, finding Moore guilty on six counts.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/judge%20stuff.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 534px;" /></p>
<p><em>Here are some things Roy Moore will no longer be needing. </em></p>
<p>Moore’s problems stem from a Jan. 6, 2016, “administrative order” he issued to Alabama probate judges instructing them not to perform marriages for same-sex couples. This order – issued six months after the <em>Obergefell</em> ruling – was clearly designed to sow confusion and lead some probate judges to stop honoring marriage equality. Many of the judges ignored it, but a few chose to listen to Moore. As a result, some same-sex couples were denied their rights.</p>
<p>To rectify that, Americans United and allied groups had to intervene. We <a href="http://au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/strawser-v-strange-0">secured a federal order</a> that permanently prevents the state from enforcing its old marriage equality ban.</p>
<p>According to the Court of the Judiciary, Moore’s brazen administrative order represented “a failure to follow clear law and a failure to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.”</p>
<p>The Court of the Judiciary found that Moore interpreted the law in a manner that was “incomplete, misleading and manipulative.” The court also said Moore “substituted his judgment for the judgment of the entire Alabama Supreme Court on a substantive legal issue in a case the pending in that Court….”</p>
<p>If all of this sounds familiar, there’s a reason. This is the second time Moore has been sanctioned by the Court of the Judiciary. In 2003, he was removed from the court after he defied a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Judicial Building in Montgomery.</p>
<p>Americans United knows a lot about that case. We <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/september-2003-church-state/featured/commandment-from-the-court">brought the challenge</a> to the government-sponsored Decalogue along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center.</p>
<p>In short, Moore has a track record of defying federal courts. He seems to think he can make the law say whatever he wants it to. He’s wrong.</p>
<p>We thought we were shed of Moore in 2003. But Alabama voters, for some reason, reelected him to the state high court in 2012. This time, he really is through – as a judge, at least. He could still run for governor or some other office.</p>
<p>That’s something to worry about later. Today we celebrate. Roy Moore has done all the damage he can to Alabama’s courts. He’s an embarrassment, a theocrat whose legal views are anchored in the fever swamps of long-discredited, pre-Civil War legal theories of “states’ rights.” </p>
<p>Moore, who has only himself to blame for his predicament, has disgraced the state of Alabama long enough. We’re happy to see him go.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage">Marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu-of-alabama">ACLU of Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama-court-of-the-judiciary">Alabama Court of the Judiciary</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/judicial-inquiry-commision">Judicial Inquiry Commision</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mat-staver">Mat Staver</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-counsel">Liberty Counsel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ten-commandments">ten commandments</a></span></div></div>Fri, 30 Sep 2016 18:50:08 +0000Rob Boston12372 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-moore-embarrassment-good-riddance-to-alabama-s-disgrace#commentsAbove The Law?: Ala. Chief Jurist Demands No Accountabilityhttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/above-the-law-ala-chief-jurist-demands-no-accountability
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Roy Moore openly defied a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. He ordered lower court judges in the state to deny citizens a right the high court said they had. He did this knowingly. He was flagrant about it. He was motivated not by respect for the law but by his own extreme religious views.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is in legal hot water again and has no one to blame but himself – but, as usual, he doesn’t want to accept responsibility for his actions.</p>
<p>As we reported previously, Moore has been <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-moore-please-ala-chief-justice-may-be-removed-from-the-bench">temporarily suspended</a> from the Alabama Supreme Court in the wake of charges that were filed against him by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission. The commission, acting on complaints filed by state residents, sent the matter to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which will investigate. If Moore is found guilty, he could be removed from the court.</p>
<p>All of this came about because Moore decided to defy the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of marriage equality. In June of 2015, the high court handed down a decision in <em><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf">Obergefell v. Hodges</a></em> recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. Moore responded a few months later by issuing a strange administrative order directing all probate judges in the state to refuse marriages licenses to same-sex couples.</p>
<p>To no one’s surprise, this brazen act of defiance of the highest court in the land got Moore in trouble. The charges are serious and deserve a full hearing, and Moore should have every opportunity to offer a defense. But rather than take part in this process, Moore is trying to gum up the works: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/suspended-alabama-chief-justice-sues-state-judicial-panel-39439006">He is suing</a> in federal court, arguing that a provision in Alabama law requiring that state judges be suspended while they are facing ethics charges is unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Moore’s lawsuit, the Associated Press reported, contends that the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission “can wield its significant power over Alabama’s elected judges – including the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – based upon trivialities, viewpoint-based objections, differences in legal interpretation, political motivations or, even worse, to protect itself from investigation of violations of its own rules.”</p>
<p>Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel is representing Moore in court. Staver said, “We are asking the federal court to strike down the automatic removal provision in the Alabama State Constitution and we are asking that Chief Justice Moore be immediately reinstated.”</p>
<p>Talk about chutzpah! Moore openly defied a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. He ordered lower court judges in the state to deny citizens a right the high court said they had. He did this knowingly. He was flagrant about it. He was motivated not by respect for the law but by his own extreme religious views.</p>
<p>And now he’s arguing that no state entity should be able to hold him accountable for his unlawful actions.</p>
<p>As you may recall, this is the second time Moore has tangled with judicial oversight bodies in Alabama. The first incident didn’t end well for him. Moore ignored a federal court ruling and refused to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Judicial Building in Montgomery. (The legal challenge, by the way, was brought by Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center.)</p>
<p>In 2003, Moore was removed from the court for his antics. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 and 2010. While Alabama voters rejected him for the governor’s mansion, they did see fit for some reason to return him to the state high court in 2012. Once back on the bench, Moore was soon up to his old tricks of attempting to merge his version of fundamentalist Christianity with the law.</p>
<p>Moore seems utterly incapable of engaging in any form of self-reflection. He wouldn’t be in this mess if he hadn’t disobeyed a higher court’s ruling. But it’s never his fault, is it? The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission must be to blame. (I thought conservatives were supposed to be for personal responsibility?)</p>
<p>Here’s hoping the federal court quickly disposes of Moore’s lawsuit, clearing the way for him to be held accountable for the mess that he – and only he – has made.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage">Marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu">ACLU</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mat-staver">Mat Staver</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-counsel">Liberty Counsel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama-judicial-inquiry-commission">Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama-court-of-the-judiciary">Alabama Court of the Judiciary</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/marriage-equality-0">Marriage Equality</a></span></div></div>Tue, 31 May 2016 14:29:59 +0000Rob Boston11983 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/above-the-law-ala-chief-jurist-demands-no-accountability#commentsBehind Closed Doors: Secretive Far-Right Umbrella Group Boasts An Extreme Membershiphttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/behind-closed-doors-secretive-far-right-umbrella-group-boasts-an-extreme
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-e-jones">Sarah E. Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">CNP is an umbrella organization composed chiefly of leaders of the nation’s Religious Right groups. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>On Tuesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain">released the 2014 membership directory</a> of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a conservative political pressure group. It’s an unusual breach for the group, whose thrice-yearly meetings are shrouded in secrecy.</p><p>A leaked memo published by <em>The New York Times </em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/us/2004-campaign-conservatives-club-most-powerful-gathers-strictest-privacy.html?_r=0">in 2004</a> shows just how serious the CNP is about its privacy. “The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before or after a meeting,” the memo reportedly insisted.</p><p>CNP is an umbrella organization composed chiefly of leaders of the nation’s Religious Right groups. Membership is by invitation only, and its ranks are therefore packed with the cream of the conservative crop. Thanks to the SPLC, we now know that includes a number of the Religious Right’s most extreme adherents.</p><p>Tony Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/17/politics/conservatives-slow-walk-donald-trump-support/">also heads</a> the CNP’s executive committee. The Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver is listed as a member, and so is Phillip Zodhiates, who will go on trial in September on charges that he helped “ex-lesbian” Lisa Miller flee to Nicaragua with her daughter to avoid sharing custody with her former partner. (Staver represented Miller during her custody battle and <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/november-2015-church-state/featured/liberty-to-force-fundamentalism-onto-others">reportedly taught</a> Liberty University law school students that the case was an example of justified civil disobedience.)</p><p>Michael Peroutka also appears in the directory. Peroutka, who currently serves as a member of the <a href="http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/an/leg/html/msa16952.html">Anne Arundel County, Md., council</a>, belonged to the League of the South, a neo-Confederate group, until 2014. He now heads the Institute on the Constitution (IOTC). <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2013/07/09/institute-on-the-constitution-founder-michael-peroutka-on-southern-secession-and-his-course-on-the-constitution-2/">According to evangelical blogger Warren Throckmorton</a>, Peroutka and IOTC promote the teachings of Christian nation zealot David Barton and lionize the Confederacy.<br /><br />In 2013, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2013/08/29/instituteconfederatepeople/">Throckmorton reported</a> that the IOTC’s official blog regularly published Confederate apologia. In one post, Peroutka repeatedly referred to Confederate troops as “American troops” and bemoaned their loss at Gettysburg, writing, “When Lee lost at Gettysburg, no earthly force remained that could stand against the Washington leviathan.”</p><p>Peroutka, alas, has competition to be the extreme member of the CNP. Frank Gaffney also belonged to the group; Gaffney advised U.S Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) until the latter suspended his presidential campaign and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/08/meet-frank-gaffney-the-anti-muslim-gadfly-who-produced-donald-trumps-anti-muslim-poll/">is infamous in D.C. circles</a> for promoting anti-Muslim bigotry via his Center for Security Policy.</p><p>Austin Ruse, who heads the Center for Family and Human Rights, is also listed in the group’s directory. Right Wing Watch <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/anti-gay-activism-trumps-religious-freedom-un-family-event">reported just this week</a> that Ruse defended Russia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations for their advocacy for the “family.” The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has labelled the latter two nations “uniquely repressive” for their policies restricting freedom of belief and expression.</p><p>And while we’re on the subject of USCIRF: Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, formerly USCIRF’s vice chair, is listed as a member of the CNP. Jasser is no longer a USCIRF commissioner, but still served as vice chair <a href="http://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/former-commissioners">during the period</a> he’s listed as a CNP member. His participation in the CNP – alongside the likes of Ruse, Gaffney and Peroutka – raise serious questions about the brand of “religious freedom” he promoted during his tenure with USCIRF.</p><p>Last and certainly not least: The Rev. R.J. Rushdoony, whose brand of Christian Reconstructionism favored the literal application of Old Testament law, is honored in the directory’s “In Memoriam” section.</p><p>The directory provides more than a disturbing look at how the Religious Right has aligned itself with certain corporate interests to gain political power. It also provides important information about its policy priorities.</p><p>CNP members have the option of listing their policy concerns in their directory entries. Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins, for example, listed “Radical Islam” alongside abortion, abstinence and religious freedom as matters of concern. Other frequent entries: School choice, charter schools, homeschooling. U.S. sovereignty and national security.<br /><br />It should surprise no one that the CNP is so attractive to the fundamentalist fringe. Its vision statement, as reported by the SPLC, lays out borderline theocratic goals: “A united conservative movement to assure, by 2020, policy leadership and governance that restores religious and economic freedom, a strong national defense, and Judeo-Christian values under the Constitution.”</p><p>The SPLC’s release is particularly important now, as CNP members deliberate who they’ll support for president. CNN reported on Tuesday that its membership is <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/17/politics/conservatives-slow-walk-donald-trump-support/">slowly coalescing</a> around Donald Trump, though it does not officially endorse candidates. </p><p>Americans United has been <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/october-2004-church-state/featured/behind-closed-doors">tracking CNP</a> for years. Given its power, it’s a good thing SPLC is also working to lift the group’s veil. CNP’s members ought to be held to account for their extremism – and any political candidate who seeks CNP’s blessing should be asked some tough questions about that. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/center-for-national-policy">Center for National Policy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/michael-peroutka">Michael Peroutka</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/austin-ruse">Austin Ruse</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/frank-gaffney">Frank Gaffney</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/philip-zodhiates">Philip Zodhiates</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rousas-j-rushdoony">Rousas J. Rushdoony</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kristan-hawkins">Kristan Hawkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/zuhdi-jasser">Zuhdi Jasser</a></span></div></div>Thu, 19 May 2016 15:55:48 +0000Ms. Sarah E. Jones11972 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/behind-closed-doors-secretive-far-right-umbrella-group-boasts-an-extreme#commentsNo Moore, Please: Ala. Chief Justice May Be Removed From The Bench http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-moore-please-ala-chief-justice-may-be-removed-from-the-bench
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore seems to believe he doesn&#039;t have to follow the law. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Word broke late Friday night that Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, may be on the verge of losing his job – again.</p><p>When we last left the Ayatollah of Alabama, he was throwing a hissy-fit over marriage equality. That mean old U.S. Supreme Court had issued a ruling that had the effect of making marriage equality the law in all 50 states. Moore, channeling his inner Jefferson Davis, decided to nullify the decision.</p><p>Apropos of pretty much nothing, Moore on Jan. 6 issued a bizarre administrative order telling all probate judges in the state not to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He insisted that an Alabama law barring same-sex marriage was still in effect.</p><p>It wasn’t. It had been eradicated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in <em><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf">Obergefell v. Hodges</a></em>. Also, a federal court in Alabama had specifically ruled that Alabama probate judges were required by the <em>Obergefell</em> decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had reached the same conclusion. The matter was settled.</p><p>Thankfully, most probate judges in the state realized that Moore was grandstanding and ignored him.</p><p>At the time this happened, Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn issued a press statement that read, “Roy Moore is the judicial equivalent of segregationists like George Wallace who stood in a schoolhouse door to block equality and freedom. Wallace lost, and Moore will lose too.”</p><p>That loss may come soon. Several complaints were filed against him, and the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission <a href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/alabama_chief_justice_roy_moor_10.html">has forwarded charges</a> to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for investigation. Moore has been suspended (with pay) while this plays out.</p><p>If this sounds familiar, there’s a reason. In 2003, Moore was removed from the Alabama high court after he disobeyed a federal court ruling and refused to take down a Ten Commandments monument from the Judicial Building in Montgomery. Americans United, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama branch of the American Civil Liberties Union had sued over that matter.</p><p>Do you sense a pattern here? Moore seems to believe he doesn’t have to follow the law. True to form, Moore is now insisting that the Inquiry Commission has no authority over him. He also blames his problems on <a href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/who_is_ambrosia_starling_roy_m.html#incart_article_small">Ambrosia Starling</a>, a transgender rights activist who has led protests against him.</p><p>“The Judicial Inquiry Commission has chosen to listen to people like Ambrosia Starling, a professed transvestite and other gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, as well as organizations that support their agenda,” Moore carped to the news site AL.com.</p><p>Moore, aided by his attorney, the LGBT-bashing Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, plans to vigorously contest the charges.</p><p>Note what is missing here: any amount of self-reflection or personal responsibility. It’s as if Moore is unable to grasp the fact that <em>his own actions</em> have led him to this place. If he hadn’t issued that goofy, clearly illegal order, none of this would be taking place.</p><p>But there may be a method to Moore’s madness. State judges in Alabama face mandatory retirement at age 70. Moore is 69. Since his time on the bench is winding down, all of this may be a stunt to keep his name in the spotlight as Moore positions himself for another shot at the governor’s mansion. (The current governor, Robert Bentley, is in mid-term but is facing <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/05/politics/alabama-governor-robert-bentley-impeachment/">possible impeachment</a> due to a sex scandal.)</p><p>Would Moore really be craven enough to do that? Sure. It’s either that or trying to eke out a living penning <a href="http://morallaw.org/america-the-beautiful-by-judge-roy-moore/">execrable poetry</a> and speaking on the Religious Right’s rubber chicken circuit, neither of which holds much promise for long-term employment.</p><p>No matter what Moore does in the future, one thing is clear: He should never be allowed near a courtroom again in any capacity. The man obviously has no respect for the law.</p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu">ACLU</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ambrosia-starling">Ambrosia Starling</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mat-staver">Mat Staver</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-counsel">Liberty Counsel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/marriage-equality-0">Marriage Equality</a></span></div></div>Mon, 09 May 2016 15:07:53 +0000Rob Boston11956 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-moore-please-ala-chief-justice-may-be-removed-from-the-bench#commentsHomegrown Hatehttp://www.au.org/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/homegrown-hate
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Brussels. Istanbul. Ankara. Paris. San Bernardino. Beirut.</p><p>These cities are famous for their history and their culture. More recently, they’re also known for the suffering they’ve experienced at the hands of radicalized Muslims.</p><p>Terrorism by Islamic extremists is real, but the fringe of that faith holds no exclusive provenance on religiously motivated hate. The sad truth is that in the United States, domestic terrorists have bombed abortion clinics and LGBT-themed venues, murdered minorities and agitated for the overthrow of the federal government.</p><p>Many use a warped version of Chris­tianity to justify their violence. These groups represent the furthest fringe of the Religious Right, but although their views are idiosyncratic, many have little-known ties to more mainstream fundamentalist figures.</p><p>Some of the more prominent move­ments are profiled here.</p><h3><br />Radical Anti-Abortion</h3><p><em>The Army of God: </em>There is little public information available about the Army of God (AOG)’s genesis and current structure. What is known, however, is that it first appeared around 1984. As Political Research Associates’ Frederick Clarkson wrote in a 1998 piece for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), abortion clinic bomber Michael Bray left a sign reading “AOG” at the site of his Norfolk, Va., attack. Clarkson also reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun – who authored the majority opinion in <em>Roe v. Wade</em> – received a threatening letter signed “AOG” in the 1980s.</p><p>The AOG also produced an influential manual for would-be militants. Excerpts reveal a sophisticated strategy: Brothers and sisters in arms are referred to by code names, and the group’s internal structure is left deliberately vague. That’s because the manual explicitly urges readers to commit violent acts against abortion providers.</p><p>“The Editors of this manual hope and pray that the information contained herein will be useful to those who are committed to pro-life activism, and may perhaps provide the catalyst to inspire others to such a commitment,” it begins. It goes on to tell sympathizers that they belong to a special “remnant” of true believers. “[W]e, the remnant of God-fearing men and women of the United States of Amerika (sic), do officially declare war on the entire child-killing industry,” it declares.</p><p>In chapters omitted from its online version, the manual provides detailed instructions on how to construct and plant bombs in abortion clinics. According to Clarkson, the manual also encourages militants to “maim doctors” by “removing their hands, or at least their thumbs below the second digit.”</p><p>Copies of the manual have been found in the homes of several militants, including Shelley Shannon, who attempted to murder Dr. George Tiller in 1993.</p><p>AOG’s status is unclear today.</p><p><em>Operation Rescue:</em> Operation Rescue (OR) brands itself as “one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation” on its website, and at first glance it appears to be more mainstream than AOG. But it’s known for extreme tactics. Founded in the 1980s by Randall Terry, its activists became famous for physically blocking abortion clinic doors and launching extended occupations at clinics in Wichita, Kan., and Buffalo, N.Y.</p><p>Its current leaders also have deep ties to anti-abortion militancy.</p><p>According to Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog, OR’s Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger served time in federal prison for attempting to bomb an abortion clinic in San Diego. Although Sullenger claims she now regrets her violence, she corresponded regularly with Scott Roeder before he murdered Tiller, and OR posted Tiller’s home address on its website. (OR says that it does not endorse Roeder’s actions.)</p><p>OR’s president, Troy Newman, also condemned the 2003 execution of Paul Hill, who murdered a Pensacola, Fla., abortion provider, calling it “another example of the judicial tyranny gripping our nation.” Hill had claimed his act was “justifiable homicide.”</p><p>Newman also sat on the board of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). CMP’s doctored video “exposés” of Planned Parenthood’s alleged sale of fetal tissue to biomedical researchers failed to turn up any evidence of wrongdoing by the health- care provider, but Robert Dear cited the videos as an influence for his Colorado Springs attack. CMP’s founder, David Daleiden, now awaits trial in Texas for violating federal law in the process of conducting his investigation; Newman recently left the organization’s board.<br /> </p><h3>Radical Anti-LGBT</h3><p><em>Abiding Truth Ministries: </em>Pastor Scott Lively calls himself an “international human rights consultant” on his blog. The truth is rather more sinister: Lively travels the world advocating for extreme legal measures that criminalize homosexuality. His Spring­field, Mass.-based group, Abiding Truth Min­istries, serves as a sort of home base to support his extreme activities in the United States and overseas.</p><p>Lively faces an ongoing lawsuit over his activities in Uganda. Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) filed legal action against the minister with the assistance of the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights in 2012. SMUG is relying on the little-known Alien Torts Statute to argue that Lively conspired with Ugandan pastors and politicians to promote legislation that would punish homosexuality with the death penalty. Although the so-called “Kill The Gays” bill never became law, it is credited for inspiring acts of vigilante violence against LGBT people, and homosexuality is still criminalized in the country.</p><p>Lively’s deeds aren’t limited to Uganda. He’s also been a frequent presence in Russia. According to <em>The Advocate</em>, the pastor toured 50 Russian cities in 2006 and 2007 and has taken credit for a recent spate of anti-LGBT legislation in the country. NBC News reported in 2013 that Lively told Russians that the gay rights movement is “the most dangerous political movement in the world.” When Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a law criminalizing gay “propaganda,” the pastor praised him as “the savior of Christian civilization.”</p><p>The controversial minister, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Massachusetts in 2014, is the author of <em>The Pink Swastika</em>, an incendiary tome that claims LGBT people orchestrated the Holocaust. Despite these extreme views, the Religious Right hasn’t disassociated itself from Lively: Liberty Counsel is currently handling his legal defense in <em>SMUG v. Lively</em>.</p><p><em>Generations With Vision: </em>Kevin Swanson’s name might be unfamiliar to most Americans, but the radical Colorado preacher briefly captured national headlines last year thanks to the bizarre pronouncements he made at his highly-publicized National Religious Liberties Conference.</p><p>Shortly before introducing GOP presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Swanson announced that the Bible demands homosexuality be punished by death and said he would rather spread cow manure all over his body than watch a gay son or daughter get married in a church.</p><p>That’s not the first time Swanson has implied that the Bible merits death for gays. According to Right Wing Watch, he took to his radio show in 2012 to express longing for the days when the Pilgrims criminalized homosexuality. He has also insisted that LGBT people will inevitably burn Christians at the stake and that gays were somehow responsible for Hurricane Sandy in 2012.</p><p>Swanson is no fan of birth control, either. In 2013, he claimed scientists had “compared the wombs of women who were on birth control pill versus those who were not on birth control pill, and they have found that with women who were on the birth control pill there are these little tiny fetuses – these little babies – embedded into the womb.</p><p>“And these wombs of women who have been on the birth control pill effectively have become graveyards for lots and lots of little babies,” he added.</p><p>This is not a real scientific phenomenon. Nevertheless, Swanson wields some influence among Christian fundamentalists, especially those who homeschool their children. He is an avid proponent of homeschooling and his ministry, Generations With Vision, hosts well-attended conferences for homeschooling families.</p><p><em>World Congress of Families: </em>Founded in 1997 by Hillsdale College history professor Dr. Allan Carlson, the Rock­ville, Ill.,-based World Con­gress of Families (WCF) explicitly calls for the criminalization of homosexuality in ad­dition to the abolition of sex education in public schools, a total prohibition of abortion and “an end to the aggressive state promotion of androgyny.” Its vehement opposition to LGBT rights and women’s rights led the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to classify the organization as a hate group.</p><p>As previously reported by <em>Church &amp; State</em>, WCF has been active overseas. By 2014, it had organized global gatherings in Prague, Geneva, Mexico City, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Madrid, Sydney and Moscow; these conferences were aimed at sympathetic legislators in conservative political parties and in some cases led them to propose bills that promoted the WCF’s extremist agenda. That includes restrictions on contraception and abortion access and measures that would criminalize homosexuality or otherwise harshly punish LGBT people.</p><p>WCF held its most recent conference in Salt Lake City. The state’s Republican governor, Gary Herbert, opened the conference alongside his wife Jeannette. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also spoke at the conference, lauding the benefits of “traditional marriage.”<br /> </p><h3>White Supremacy</h3><p><em>The Ku Klux Klan: </em>Though its numbers are far reduced from its peak in the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) still exists. It has splintered into several affiliated factions: The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan appears to be one of its more active branches and is based in Harrison, Ark. The Knights’ leader, Thomas Robb, is a Christian minister who operates both the KKK and his Christian Revival Center on extensive property there.</p><p>According to the SPLC, the KKK has been weakened by internal conflicts. Its primary activities appear to be marches and the dissemination of racist and anti-Semitic flyers; however, one Klansman, Frazier Glenn Miller, opened fire at a Jewish community center in Overland Park, Kan., in 2014. He murdered three.</p><p>Although the KKK’s primary cause is the promotion of white supremacy, it has also historically identified itself as a Christian group, and many of its members justify their activities with a racist interpretation of Christian doctrine.</p><p>“We don’t hate people because of their race. We are a Christian organization,” Fred Ancona, who heads the group’s Virginia affiliate, told a Richmond TV station 2014.</p><p>Also in 2014, Robb told the Springfield, Mo., <em>News-Leader </em>that his message – white people should “love their own people” – is biblical. </p><p>The SPLC estimates there are roughly 5,000-8,000 members of the KKK remaining in America, but it’s difficult to tell how many cloak their activities in far-right Christianity. But it’s clear that Robb, Ancona and many other modern Klansmen believe that their unusual interpretation of the Christian faith isn’t just compatible with their segregationist convictions; they believe that the former mandates the latter conclusion.</p><p>A number of explicitly Christian and white supremacist belief systems influence their perspectives.</p><p><em>Christian Identity:</em> According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Christian Identity movement holds that white Europeans are the true biological descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel.</p><p>This false belief originated in the 19th century and eventually mutated in the early 20th. At that time, many of its adherents began to hold that they were real Israelites, and Jews were not. In this equation, white Europeans were the inheritors of biblical prophecy, the real “chosen people.” The ADL also states that Christian Identity adherents believe that only white people have souls and that the world is in its final days. But although they believe Jesus will return to Earth, they insist he will do so only after a final race war.</p><p>Christian Identity is a decentralized belief system, not an organization, and it heavily influences contemporary white supremacy. An indi­vidual Klansman or Klan branch (sometimes called a klavern) can identify as Christian Identity; the Texas-based White Cam­elia [sic] Knights of the KKK is an example of a Christian Identity Klan. On its website, the group boasts that its members are “White Christian Men and Women dedicated to the advancement and protection of the same Christian beliefs that were the foundation of this once great nation.”</p><p>The ADL says Christian Identity adherents have been connected to a series of armed robberies in the 1990s and violent bombings. (Eric Rudolph, infamous for bombing the Atlanta Olympic Games in addition to gay bars and an abortion clinic, had ties to Christian Identity figures.)</p><p><em>Kinism: </em>Kinism is characterized both by an idiosyncratic interpretation of Calvinism and Confederate apologia. Kinists believe the Bible justifies segregation; many also identify as Christian Reconstructionists or theonomists, who believe the U.S. government should enforce Old Testament law.</p><p>The ADL dates the philosophy’s contemporary origins to the late 1990s and early 2000s, though its roots are much older.</p><p>“While accepting many standard Christian tenets and declaring Jesus as their Savior, these Kinists assert that whites have a ‘God-given right’ to preserve their own kind and live separately from other races in their own communities,” the group reported in 2013.</p><p>The ADL also notes that Kinists, like Christian Identity adherents, don’t belong to a structured “Kinist” organization. Unlike Christian Identity, Kinism does not hold that white Europeans are secret Israelites. Their views resemble those of the historical Confederates: They idolize the agrarian antebellum South, interpret states’ rights in a manner that sev­erely restricts the power of federal government and oppose interracial marriage.</p><p>To Kinists, Reconstruction marked the end of a truly biblical order in the American South. But many also espouse explicitly anti-feminist and anti-LGBT views, believing that women should not have the right to vote and that LGBT rights are evidence of the country’s continuing moral downfall. Some are also anti-Semitic. In 2007, one prominent Kinist blogger, Ehud Would, called for the deportation of “most Blacks, Jews and Mestizos.”</p><p>The philosophy’s popularity in some deeply conservative Calvinist circles led the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (briefly the denominational home of the late Christian Reconstructionist leader R.J. Rushdoony) to condemn it publicly on its website.</p><p>Nevertheless, Kinism persists and continues to influence Christian white supremacists. A number of self-identified Kinists continue to promote the philosophy via FaithandHeritage.com. One of its writers might be familiar to readers: Scott Terry achieved 15 minutes of Internet fame in 2013 for interrupting a Conservative Political Action Conference panel in order to praise slavery.</p><p>More information about these extreme groups and movements can be found through reputable sources on the web. </p></div></div><a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-e-jones">Sarah E. Jones</a><h3 >On The Fringes Of The Far Right Sit Groups That Use Faith To Justify Violent&nbsp;Extremism</h3><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Featured</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-11919" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
<header>
<div class="image">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.au.org/files/styles/cs_cover_thumbnail/public/May%2016%20Web%20cover.jpg?itok=v7VwB8zM" width="75" height="97" alt="" /></div></div></div> </div>
<h2><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">May</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2016</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
</a></h2>
<span class="read-more">
<a href="/church-state">Browse previous issues &raquo;</a>
</span>
</header>
<div class="content">
<div class="frontpage-block frontpage-view-church-state-articles-featured-articles" >
<h3>Featured Articles</h3>
<div class="content">
<div class="view view-church-state-articles view-id-church_state_articles view-display-id-featured_articles view-dom-id-c85f18e93caadfd62517a2ab077283c6">
<div class="view-content">
<div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/homegrown-hate">Homegrown Hate</a></h3>
<h4>On The Fringes Of The Far Right Sit Groups That Use Faith To Justify Violent Extremism</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/innocence-abused">Innocence Abused </a></h3>
<h4>How A Reckless Combination Of Church And State Harmed Pennsylvania&#039;s Children</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/the-curious-case-of-kiryas-joel">The Curious Case Of Kiryas Joel</a></h3>
<h4>A Q&amp;A With Louis Grumet</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even views-row-last">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/americans-united-in-action">Americans United In Action!</a></h3>
<h4>Staff Members and Activists Support Church-State Separation Nationwide</h4> </div>
</div>
</div> </div>
</div><div class="lower clearfix"><div class="frontpage-block frontpage-view-church-state-articles-all-articles" >
<div class="content">
<div class="view view-church-state-articles view-id-church_state_articles view-display-id-all_articles view-dom-id-d4763a92428ae564dbfe21270828c1fc">
<div class="view-content">
<div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/miss-adopts-sweeping-discrimination-measure">Miss. Adopts Sweeping Discrimination Measure </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-egypt-renews-anti-blasphemy-push">Around The World: Egypt Renews Anti-Blasphemy Push</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/new-regulations-issued-for-faith-based-groups">New Regulations Issued For ‘Faith-Based’ Groups</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/ga-governor-vetoes-discriminatory-lgbt-bill">Ga. Governor Vetoes Discriminatory LGBT Bill</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/md-legislature-passes-private-school-voucher-program">Md. Legislature Passes Private School Voucher Program</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-seeks-to-alter-church-state-provisions">Okla. Seeks To Alter Church-State Provisions</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/idaho-governor-vetoes-bible-in-schools-bill">Idaho Governor Vetoes Bible-In-Schools Bill</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/au-bulletin/calif-city-residents-oppose-mayor-s-prayer-breakfast">Calif. City Residents Oppose Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-editorial"> <h3>Editorial</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/editorial/no-proselytism-zone-keep-our-public-schools-free-of">No Proselytism Zone: Keep Our Public Schools Free Of Teacher/Preachers</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/editorial/tenn-considers-a-bad-idea-for-the-good-book">Tenn. Considers A Bad Idea For The Good Book </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-viewpoint"> <h3>Viewpoint</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/viewpoint/campus-crusade-for-bias">Campus Crusade For Bias?</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-perspective"> <h3>Perspective</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/perspective/my-southern-swing-contemplating-the-us-constitution">My Southern Swing: Contemplating The U.S. Constitution—And Crawfish</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-letters"> <h3>Letters</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/letters/can-businesses-believe">Can Businesses Believe? </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-people--events"> <h3>People &amp; Events</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/obama-supreme-court-pick-has-thin-record-on-church">Obama Supreme Court Pick Has Thin Record On Church And State</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/new-birth-control-case-argued-before-us-supreme">New Birth Control Case Argued Before U.S. Supreme Court </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/st-louis-bishop-s-attack-on-girl-scouts-backfires">St. Louis Bishop’s Attack On Girl Scouts Backfires As Cookie Sales Skyrocket</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/mayor-of-richmond-accused-of-diverting-tax-funds-to">Mayor Of Richmond Accused Of Diverting Tax Funds To His Church </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/phoenix-officials-return-prayer-to-agenda-after">Phoenix Officials Return Prayer To Agenda After Community Complaints</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/ally-of-christian-nation-advocate-barton-loses">Ally Of ‘Christian Nation’ Advocate Barton Loses Election To Texas High Court </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/may-2016-church-state/people-events/groups-challenge-nc-law-that-will-restrict-rights">Groups Challenge N.C. Law That Will Restrict Rights Of LGBT Residents </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div> </div>
</div> </div>
</div></div> </div> <!-- /.content -->
<footer>
<ul class="links inline"><li class="comment_forbidden first last"></li>
</ul> <!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style ">
<a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone" g:plusone:size="medium"></a>
<a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=americansunited"></script>
<!-- AddThis Button END -->
</footer>
</article> <!-- /.node -->
</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/abortion-rights">abortion rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/womens-rights">women&#039;s rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/white-supremacists">White Supremacists</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ku-klux-klan">Ku Klux Klan</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/anti-defamation-league-adl">Anti-Defamation League (ADL)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/operation-rescue">Operation Rescue</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/army-of-god">Army of God</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/world-congress-of-families">World Congress of Families</a></span></div></div>Fri, 29 Apr 2016 22:00:00 +0000Timothy Ritz11920 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/church-state/may-2016-church-state/featured/homegrown-hate#commentsHate Halted?: American Family Association Removes Its Embarrassing ‘Bigotry Map’http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/hate-halted-american-family-association-removes-its-embarrassing-bigotry
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">One year ago, the Tupelo, Miss.,-based group that is best known for obsessively tracking the non-existent &#039;war on Christmas&#039; and for being anti-gay, launched a map that purported to illustrate the locations of a myriad of organizations that are anti-Christian; in reality, they were mostly groups that simply disagreed with AFA.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The American Family Association (AFA) has quietly removed from its website a map that attempted to document organizations that supposedly persecuted Christians.</p><p>One year ago, the Tupelo, Miss.,-based group that is best known for <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/who-s-been-naughty-who-s-been-nice-the-afa-explains-it-all-for-you">obsessively tracking the non-existent “war on Christmas”</a> and for being anti-gay, <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fuzzy-map-religious-right-group-accuses-americans-united-and-its-allies-of">launched a map</a> that purported to illustrate the locations of a myriad of organizations that are anti-Christian; in reality, they were mostly groups that simply disagreed with AFA.</p><p>Americans United landed on the list – no surprise there. But AFA seemed confused about the actual location of our national office, which is in Washington, D.C. AFA either didn’t know this, or decided to ignore it in favor of dotting its map with the locations of our various local chapters – most of which were wrong, too.</p><p>Despite AFA’s claim, Americans United is not now, and has never been, an anti-Christian organization. Most of our founders were Christians, and we’ve been led for more than 20 years by a Christian minister. Although Americans United’s membership today is diverse, we count many Christians among our ranks, and we regularly form coalitions with a number of faith traditions.</p><p>AU was listed among the so-called “bigots,” apparently, because we don’t support AFA’s brand of far-right religious zeal. If we did, we’d find ourselves listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map">Hate Map</a>” – which AFA clearly copied – alongside AFA.</p><p>Another target of the map were atheist and humanist groups. The map’s creators attempted to list all active atheist groups, no matter how small, as “bigoted” groups to watch. The AFA defined atheists as anyone “critical of those who express their faith in public,” and humanists as individuals who say “critical thinking and physical evidence are the sole basis for beliefs.”</p><p>Some other groups listed on AFA’s map can only be described as odd. AARP landed on the list. According to the map, AARP was listed for supporting marriage equality – just like AU and others. Maybe AFA also really hates the idea of Social Security reform? </p><p>Hemant Mehta, who blogs as the “Friendly Atheist,” <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/02/23/the-american-family-association-has-quietly-removed-the-bigotry-map-from-its-website/">was the first to notice AFA’s removal of the map</a>. He called up AFA General Counsel Patrick Vaughn, who claimed the map was removed because it had “served its purpose” and was getting stale on the group’s website.</p><p>So as far as AFA is concerned, anti-Christian “bigotry” is over? Did we miss the victory celebration? Not likely. </p><p>Mehta noted that when AFA launched its “Bigotry Map” last year, it claimed: “Some members or supporters of these groups have committed violent crimes against Christians and faith-based groups. Physical and profane verbal assaults against Christians are methods frequently exercised in their angry methods of intimidation.” </p><p>Of course AFA didn’t list any examples of that alleged violence because, well, there aren’t any. And that’s probably why the “Bigotry Map” is no more. It didn’t actually serve its stated purpose – because documenting real bigotry was never the goal.</p><p>Christians are the least-persecuted religious group in the United States, but that reality doesn’t help AFA and its allies raise money. So they had to invent a list of threats in an attempt to scare their supporters. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t. Either way, AFA will have to fabricate a new phony threat to its idea of “religious liberty.” Perhaps a “Persecution Pie Chart” would be a good start.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/hate-map">Hate Map</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aarp">AARP</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/christian-persecution">Christian Persecution</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bigotry-map">Bigotry Map</a></span></div></div>Tue, 23 Feb 2016 18:01:32 +0000Simon Brown11757 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/hate-halted-american-family-association-removes-its-embarrassing-bigotry#commentsOne Million Maniacs?: Religious Right Group Attacks Magazine For Highlighting Family Headed By Same-Sex Couple http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/one-million-maniacs-religious-right-group-attacks-magazine-for-highlighting
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">One Million Moms is a front group for the American Family Association, one of the nastiest and most homophobic Religious Right outfits in the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls it a hate group. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I have a daughter named Claire who is 21 years old and working her first job in journalism since graduating from college. I’m awfully proud of her, but like all dads, I can’t help but fondly remember days gone by when she was a little girl.</p><p>For several years, Claire was enamored with a popular line of toys called American Girl dolls. For the uninitiated, these dolls, made by the Mattel company, feature girls from specific historical periods. Each girl comes with a backstory, as well as lots and lots of outfits and accoutrements.</p><p>Mattel publishes a tie-in magazine called <em>American Girl</em>. It contains stories, craft projects and non-fiction articles aimed at a target audience of young girls. Of course Claire was a subscriber.</p><p><em>American Girl</em> surfaced in the media recently after it featured a story about a same-sex couple in Darnestown, Md., who have adopted four children who came to them through the foster-care system. One of the children, an 11-year-old girl named Amaya, shared her story with the magazine.</p><p>That’s when the Religious Right decided to start raising a ruckus. A group called One Million Moms <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/11/05/maryland-family-faces-harsh-criticism-after-adopted-daughter-featured-in-american-girl-magazine/">blasted the magazine</a> for daring to profile a same-sex couple.</p><p>“The magazine also could have chosen another child to write about and remained neutral in the culture war,” fumed a post on the One Million Moms website. It accused <em>American Girl</em> of trying to “desensitize our youth by featuring a family with two dads” and called on subscribers to cancel their subscriptions to the magazine and <a href="http://onemillionmoms.com/current-campaigns/american-girl-disappoints-conservative-customers/">bombard Mattel</a> with messages of disapproval.</p><p>Now, there are few things you should know about <a href="http://www.onemillionmoms.com/about-us/">One Million Moms</a>. Like the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither holy, Roman nor an empire, One Million Moms doesn’t have a million members, and chances are many of its supporters aren’t moms.</p><p>One Million Moms, in fact, is a front group for the American Family Association (AFA), one of the nastiest and most homophobic Religious Right outfits in the country. (The Southern Poverty Law Center <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/american-family-association">calls it a hate group</a>.)</p><p>The AFA, like most Religious Right groups, is run primarily by old dudes, <a href="https://www.afa.net/who-is-afa/spokespersons/">like this</a>. I’m only seeing one potential mom there.</p><p>Remember, this is the group that has given harbor to the notorious <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/bryan-fischer">right-wing loon Bryan Fischer</a> (who is also not a mom) for many years. The AFA, based in Tupelo, Miss., has <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/january-2006-church-state/people-events/religious-right-takes-aim-at-line-of-popular">long had it in</a> for American Girls because the dolls – horror of horrors! – encourage girls to be headstrong and independent problem solvers.</p><p>Why does One Million Moms exist? It’s like this: The AFA was founded in the late 1970s to clean up television – its original name was the National Federation for Decency. The rise of cable pretty much made that a non-starter, so the AFA moved on to more lucrative pastures and these days spends most of its time blasting gays, regurgitating talking points from the Republican National Committee, moaning about the phony “war on Christmas” and attacking anything President Barack Obama says.</p><p>But the AFA still wanted to have a hand in its original mission of getting the filth off of television by endlessly carping about TV shows it considers too risqué for children. (The new Muppets program, for example, is <a href="http://www.onemillionmoms.com/current-campaigns/warning-the-new-muppets-is-not-family-friendly/">not family friendly</a>!) Hence the creation of One Million Moms. (There is an allied <a href="http://www.onemilliondads.com/">One Million Dads</a> group, but you don’t hear much out of them.)</p><p>Here’s the funny thing: This group of one million moms has only about 82,000 “likes” on its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/onemillionmoms/?fref=ts">Facebook page</a>, and a rather unimpressive 3,300 followers on <a href="https://twitter.com/1milmoms">Twitter</a>. I suspect there’s more Astroturf than grassroots to this group.</p><p>As for the organization's attack on Rob and Reece Scheer, the couple who has adopted the four homeless children, well, it’s just ugly and mean-spirited. In the story that ran in <em>American Girl</em>, Amaya recounted how she and her brother arrived at the Scheers house in 2009 with everything they owned stuffed into two trash bags. As <em>The Washington Post</em> reported, the two had been in three foster homes in four months.</p><p>Their journeys stopped when the Scheers adopted them. The couple then went on to adopt two brothers. The Scheers now have four children spanning the ages of 6-11.</p><p>When I read about the Scheers in <em>The Post</em>, I could only stand in awe of their kind-heartedness and decency. Four children who didn’t have a home now have a secure place to live that is filled with love and care – and we’re to believe that’s a threat to “family values”? What the Scheers have done is the epitome of family values! It’s something that most sensible moms (and dads) would applaud. </p><p>So to the Scheers I say, don’t let the bigots get you down. What you’re doing is amazing, and your all-American family is simply beautiful.</p><p>Also, consider taking a trip to the <a href="http://www.americangirl.com/retailstore/washington-dc">American Girl Place</a> in Tysons Corner, Va. I think the whole family would have a good time.</p><p>P.S. One Million Moms is asking its supporters to email Susan Jevens, senior public relations associate at American Girl, and express disapproval about the story. It would be great if instead she got messages from people telling her not to listen to the hateful zealots of the AFA. You can email her at: <a href="mailto:susan.jevens@americangirl.com">susan.jevens@americangirl.com</a>.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/one-million-moms">One Million Moms</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-girl">American Girl</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mattel">Mattel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rob-scheer">Rob Scheer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/reece-scheer">Reece Scheer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/muppets">Muppets</a></span></div></div>Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:53:50 +0000Rob Boston11534 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/one-million-maniacs-religious-right-group-attacks-magazine-for-highlighting#commentsResistance Is Futile: Some County Clerks Say ‘I Won’t’ To Marriage Equalityhttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/resistance-is-futile-some-county-clerks-say-i-won-t-to-marriage-equality
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Government employees have two choices: follow the law and serve everyone who is legally qualified to marry or resign.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>One week ago, the U.S. Supreme Court extended <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf">marriage equality</a> nationwide. So where are we now?</p><p>To no one’s surprise, leaders of the Religious Right and some of their political allies have been <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/radical-reactions-yes-the-religious-right-is-freaking-out-over-the-marriage">huffing and puffing</a>. The U.S. Catholic bishops <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/us-catholic-bishops-same-sex-marriage-ruling-profoundly-immoral-and">didn’t much like it</a> either.</p><p>That was to be expected. To me, the more interesting question was how government officials would react. I don’t mean the governors of red states or would-be GOP presidents. I’m interested in the reaction of the people on the ground.</p><p>Before this decision came down, some local officials were bloviating about how they would never abide by it. Some county clerks began arguing that they have a “religious freedom” right to refuse to deal with same-sex couples.</p><p>Some are still arguing that. In Rowan County, Ky., Kim Davis, the county clerk, has been turning away same-sex couples. She tells them to go to another county.</p><p>“It’s a deep-rooted conviction; my conscience won’t allow me to do that,” the Associated Press <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/06/30/same-sex-marriage-fight-turns-to-clerk-who-refuse-licenses">quoted Davis</a> as saying. “It goes against everything I hold dear, everything sacred in my life.”</p><p>Other clerks in the Bluegrass State started off talking about how they would refuse but have accepted reality and are now issuing licenses to all couples, opposite-sex and same-sex. A few others have quit rather than follow the ruling.</p><p>Katie Lang, a clerk in Hood County, Texas, is refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Lang has received support from one cleric who doesn’t even live anywhere near her: Thomas J. Tobin, the Catholic bishop of Providence, R.I., <a href="http://providencejournal.com/article/20150701/NEWS/150709885/0/SEARCH">called Lang “courageous”</a> and urged others to emulate her. </p><p>In Alabama, probate judges, county-level officials who are responsible for issuing marriage licenses, are <a href="http://www.wtvm.com/story/29454817/all-north-alabama-counties-now-issuing-marriage-licenses">slowly coming around</a>. But it hasn’t been easy. Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are representing five same-sex couples in the state who were denied the right to marry prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling. The groups had to go back to court and ask a federal judge to issue a new statement making it clear that these probate judges must follow the law.</p><p>U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade <a href="https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/federal-court-confirms-that-all-alabama-counties-must-permit-marriage-equality">did so immediately</a>. But, remarkably, a handful of probate judges continue to hold out. Their defiance may have consequences. AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan <a href="http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/politics/southunionstreet/2015/07/01/federal-judge-sex-marriage-ruling-binding-ala/29561401/">told</a> the <em>Montgomery Advertiser</em>, “If any probate judges persist in violating it, we would seek a finding of contempt from the court, which would result in the imposition of fines for every day of noncompliance, an award of attorneys’ fees for litigating the motion, and any remedies the court deems appropriate.”</p><p>(If you ever wonder if your support of AU and other groups makes a difference, just read <a href="http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20150701/NEWS/150709986?tc=cr">this story</a>.)</p><p>AU doesn’t intend to let up in Alabama or in other states. These people are government employees. They have two choices: follow the law and serve everyone who is legally qualified to marry or resign.</p><p>In Grenada County, Miss., Circuit Clerk Linda Barnette did just that. In a letter of resignation <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/06/30/grenada-circuit-clerk-resigns-over-same-sex-marriage/29508097/">she wrote</a>, “The Supreme Court’s decision violates my core values as a Christian. My final authority is the Bible. I cannot in all good conscience issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples under my name because the Bible clearly teaches that homosexuality is contrary to God's plan and purpose for marriage and family.”</p><p>While I disagree strongly with Barnette’s theological views on marriage equality, I acknowledge that she did the right thing here. Rather than try to hang on and feed at the public trough when she was not willing to serve all of the public, she quit.</p><p>Religious Right groups are <a href="http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2015/07/01/one-clerk-quits-another-keeps-going?utm_source=OneNewsNow&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=16781447&amp;utm_content=105486778159&amp;utm_campaign=20031">portraying these clerks</a> as martyrs and heroes. These people are neither. Rather, they are simply fundamentalist zealots who have decided that their personal biases should trump secular law. The sooner they quit, the better off we’ll all be.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage">Marriage</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/texas">Texas</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mississippi">Mississippi</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/callie-vs-granade">Callie V.S. Granade</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ayesha-khan">Ayesha Khan</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/linda-barnette">Linda Barnette</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/katie-lang">Katie Lang</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bishop-thomas-j-tobin">Bishop Thomas J. Tobin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kim-davis">Kim Davis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kentucky">kentucky</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/national-center-for-lesbian-rights">National Center for Lesbian Rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-civil-liberties-union">American Civil Liberties Union</a></span></div></div>Thu, 02 Jul 2015 14:27:20 +0000Rob Boston11246 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/resistance-is-futile-some-county-clerks-say-i-won-t-to-marriage-equality#commentsFederal Court Confirms That All Alabama Counties Must Permit Marriage Equalityhttp://www.au.org/media/press-releases/federal-court-confirms-that-all-alabama-counties-must-permit-marriage-equality
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade today <a href="https://au.org/files/pdf_documents/2015-06-30_PI%20clarification%20order.pdf" target="_blank">issued an order</a> confirming that her injunction directing all Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is now in effect and requires immediate compliance.</p><p>A violation of Judge Granade’s order could result in a county probate judge being held liable for contempt of court, attorneys’ fees, financial penalties and any other remedies the court deems proper.</p><p>In today’s order, Judge Granade stated: “By the language set forth in the order, the preliminary injunction is now in effect and binding on all members of the Defendant Class.”</p><p>In that May 21 preliminary-injunction order, Judge Granade directed all Alabama probate judges to stop enforcing the state’s marriage ban – effective immediately – after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling affirming marriage equality. The Supreme Court issued its decision last Friday, so the injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ban went into effect that day.</p><p>Although most of Alabama’s county probate judges are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a minority are not. So the civil rights groups representing the plaintiffs in the federal class-action lawsuit asked Judge Granade to confirm that her order is now in effect. She immediately granted the request, issuing today’s order that all probate judges must issue licenses to same-sex couples under the same terms and conditions that they are issued to opposite-sex couples.</p><p>The four organizations representing the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit are the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.</p><p>The lawsuit—Strawser v. Strange—was brought by five same-sex couples. It initially resulted in an order from Judge Granade requiring the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Mobile County. The order was expanded in Granade’s May 21 order to cover all Alabama counties. </p><hr /><p>The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. <a href="http://www.nclrights.org/" target="_blank">www.NCLRights.org</a></p><p>The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Alabama with offices in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. For more information, see <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/" target="_blank">www.SPLCenter.org</a><br /><br />ACLU of Alabama, Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself. <a href="http://www.aclualabama.org/" target="_blank">www.ACLUAlabama.org</a></p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage">Marriage</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu-of-alabama">ACLU of Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/national-center-for-lesbian-rights">National Center for Lesbian Rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/au-celebrates-and-defends-marriage-equality">AU Celebrates -- And Defends -- Marriage Equality!</a></span></div></div>Wed, 01 Jul 2015 17:00:02 +0000Timothy Ritz11244 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/media/press-releases/federal-court-confirms-that-all-alabama-counties-must-permit-marriage-equality#comments